Comments

People have opinions and they all should be respected if given in the correct mannor. Everyone needs to just sit back and take a hard look at how things are being said. For family of both sides of this fence is a horrible ordeal. And this includes friends. So when posting opinions I hope everyone remembers how hard his is for them. No one knows for sure what has happened, but please be mindfull of other peoples feelings.

personally i feel safer on a country highway road than in the city most times. there's less traffic therefore youre more easily spotted and the driver has less distractions occuring in view that would prevent them from seeing a cyclist on the road. there is far less turning and unpredictable actions coming from the cyclist AND the driver. country people are usually a LITTLE more accepting of sharing the road in my experience. i dunno, i just feel safer.and as for "not seeing a biker on the road", i am 6'2" standing and taller than that on my bike. taller than most cars. if you cant see me, you scare me.

Under the laws of the State of Kansas (and all others) a bicycle is a vehicle, and can use the roads of the state, just like any other vehicle, with the caveat, that they either must maintain the same speed as the traffic, or in instances where they can't maintain the minimum speed, stay as far right as practicle. In which case cars are to give 4 feet of space, minumum. Doesn't matter if drivers are driving faster, in a van, etc. Cyclists are to obey all traffic laws, period, as are the drivers of cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles. And for all the people who point out bad behaviour of cyclists, there are a far greater number of cars, not making complete stops at stop signs, not making full stops at "right turns on red", not signalling turns, speeding, etc. You know it and I know it. I see it everyday.But in this case, no matter who was at fault, Lt. Dillon lost his life. For this I am sorry. For the dirver, who will have to live with the images in his mind, I am also sorry. Most car/bike accidents or for that matter most accidents, happen because of inattentiveness, either on the part of one operator or the other. In this day and age of continuous distraction, by cel phone, eating in the car, putting on make-up, reading, whatever. People need to pay attention to the road and their surroundings. This accident could have easily been 2 cars, a pedsetrian, a motorcycle, or a deer. If you don't pay attention, you can't see to stop or avoid the accident. This was not about bikes on a one way road in a park, or coming off a bike trail skipping a yield sign, or a pack of spandex wearing cyclists, riding 3 or 4 abreast. This was one guy, on a saturday morning riding his bike, and one car, failing to see him riding on a straight stretch of highway. In the end, it comes down to not paying attention. The number one rule of driving, no matter what you are driving. Unfortunately, on a bicycle, you can pay attention to cars coming from behind, but a 175 pound man on a 20 pound bike will never match up to a 3,000 pound car hitting him. My heart goes out to the family and friends of Lt. Dillon.

I do agree that this appears to be simple inattentiveness on the part of the driver, who probably had no ill will toward the cyclist. You gotta feel sorry for both the family of the officer and the driver, who probably feels awful and will have to live with this for the rest of his life.When you read all the comments on discussions such as this, it is apparent that there are rude people on both sides of the issue. I always ride right and wave after a car has to slow down and wait behind me going up a hill for instance. But I've gotten plenty of horns, or been passed with very little breathing space. I've also seen plenty of cyclists that seem to feel like they own the road, especially if they are in a group. These are often athletic, experienced cyclists who seem to think they are justified holding up traffic on a fast two lane just because they are "pros". They give the sport of cycling a bad name in the general community and the rest of us should call them out on their behavior when we see it. There is no reason we can't share the road.

They need to give out more tickets. I didn't learn about the rules until I got a ticket. I hated it at the time because I didn't get off with any warning, but since then I wish I could give out the tickets. But yes, I got a ticket for not staying to the right part of the right lane on Vermont Street.

Multidisciplinary said-How do you not see a person on a bike?Minivans.The triangle window arrangement in the front corners interferes with seeing both pedestrians and bikes sometimes. _______ Most people don't drive their mini-vans by looking out the corners of the front windshield. >Most usually look out the front (center) of the windshield - when using this method of driving, most (those not blind, in a road trance, etc.) can see the cyclist in front of the vehicle LONG before it becomes necessary to use the side windows to see the cyclist. I will not deny that many cyclists do not obey the law when riding their bicycles, but I will ask you these questions - >How many licensed drivers know what they are supposed to do when there is a bicyclist on the same road they are on? >Do you know how much of the road is allowed for a cyclist to ride on? (And inversely, How often do you give it to the cyclist?) -- For those who complain about signals and their use -- >How often do you use the turn signals in your car before making a turn? >Do you know how far BEFORE the turn you are supposed to signal? I'm not going to give these answers out. Partly because I believe part of learning something is the act of finding the answer and to see how many get upset about me inferring they do NOT know how to drive their vehicles.

Motorists should respect that other people are using bicycles as transportation. For many, the only other option is to walk. However, those packs of bicyclists who ride for fun and block traffic are causing people to have negative opinions of bicyclists. It's one thing to use a bicycle as a means to get where one needs to go, but these packs of bicyclists are a menace to the roadways. The pack bicyclist's apparent need to stick so closely to the pack causes he/she to ride dangerously, disobeying traffic signals and crossing roadways without having the right of way. Ironically, these recreational bicyclists are the ones who love bicycles and want to promote their use, but they are also the ones who are creating society's negative opinion of bicycles. Unfortunately, it will probably take a whole pack of them being run down on Highway 59 before they realize how ignorant they have been.

I agree that bicyclists should keep to the right, except when they are at an intersection - then I think they need to move into the middle of the lane and take their own full turn going through the intersection. How else can a bicyclist avoid being hit by someone turning right?

you should use your turn signal at least 100 feet in advance of a turn, and you are to give a cyclist at least 4 feet of space between your car and them when passing on a road. and you should only pass when it is safe to do so (when allowing them 4 feet of clearance will not put you in oncoming traffic or into an adjacent car going your same direction)

Cyclists ride with traffic, not against it. Though there are many bicyclists out there who ignore the ways of the road, there are many who follow it well. Drivers feel the need to honk, and curse at me when I'm riding as I should, on the shoulder of the road. It does seem peculiar that this man was hit and killed on this very road. How do you NOT see a bicyclist in front of you?Very sad occasion, but I hope this makes drivers as well as bikers more aware of one another in the future.

stupid bicyclers?? is that a necassary comment to be saying right now for those who have lost a brother, son, friend, and a father of me. Very ignorant I believe. But how do you really not see a person on a bike? just unbelievable at this point.

I really feel for the family. So the guy they interviewed is implying that this may have been intentional? I hope I got that all-wrong. I hope cyclists understand that they are sometimes very hard to notice because of their size. Are cyclist not supposed to ride on the left side of the road so they can see cars coming? I see a lot of them that don't follow that rule.